Ice detector and deicing mechanisms for gas holders



Aug; 12, 1952 J. H. WIGGINS ICE DETECTOR AND DEICING MECHANISMS FOR GAS HOLDERS Filed Jan. 5, 1949 FIG.2.

FIG.4.

5 mm w G mm m ww w MHJAA J v1 5 Patented Aug. 12, 1952 ICE DETECTOR AND DEIOING MECHANISMS FOR GAS HOLDERS John H. Wiggins, Chicago, Ill.

Application January 3, 1949, Serial No. 68,997

8 Claims.

This invention relates to gas holders, and particularly, piston-type gas holders of the kind in which the space between the piston and the container in which the piston operates, is sealed by a flexible, curtain-like sealing element, usually constructed of gas-tight fabric, attached to the side wall of the gas storage chamber and to the peripheral edge of the piston. One objectionable characteristic of gas holders of the kind referred to is that during cold weather, ice can accumulate on the piston sealing element and on other internal surfaces of the gas holder, due to condensation and freezing of water vapor from the gas introduced into the holder.

The main object of my invention is to provide a gas holder, which is of such construction or design that an operative located on the exterior of the holder, can easily determine at any time and in any position of the piston, the approximate quantity or thickness of ice that has accumulated on certain internal surfaces of the gas holder, and thus decide whether tie-icing of the gas holder is necessary.

Another object of my invention is to provide a gas holder, which, in addition to having reliable ice detectors of novel construction, is equipped with a de-icing mechanism of simple design, that can be operated from the exterior of the holder while it is in use, to effectively remove ice from internal surfaces of the holder on which an accumulation of a considerable quan- I tity of ice might interfere with the operation of the gas holder or injure parts of same. Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out. I have herein illustrated my invention embodied in a pistontype dry seal gas holder, but I wish it to be understood that my invention is applicable to various kinds of gas holders.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of a gas holder embodying my invention, showing the piston in its lowermost position or at the end of its downward stroke.

Figure 2 is a similar view, showing the piston approximately mid-way its extreme top and bottom positions.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view of one of the ice detectors in the side wall of the gas storage chamber; and

' Figure 4 is an elevational view of said ice detector.

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention embodied in a dry seal, piston-type gas holder of conventional construction, comprising 2 a piston A arranged to reciprocate vertically in a container having a side wall B, a bottom C and a roof D. A flexible, curtain-like, gas-tight sealing element E is attached to the container side wall and to the peripheral edge of the piston, so as to co-act with the piston and with the lower portion of the container to form the gas storage space of the apparatus, the bottom of the container and the lower end portion of the container side wall being of gas-tight construction. Projecting upwardly from the piston at the peripheral edge of same there is an annular back-stop member F that co-acts with the upper portion of the container side wall to form abutmerit surfaces for the flexible piston sealing element E in certain positions of the piston, and on the roof of the container there is a vent G that ventilates the interior of the portion of the container located above the piston and above the dry seal E between the piston and-the container side wall. A drain pipe G equipped with'a controlling valve leads from the lower end of the storage chamber, as shown in Figure 2. The parts above referred to are of conventional design, and may be of any preferred construction, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

When the atmospheric temperature is below freezing, water vapor which condenses from the gases in the gas storage chamber of the apparatus will freeze into ice that collects on and adheres to the inner surface of the flexible piston sealing element E, and on rigid surfaces of the gas storage chamber, such as the inner face of the side wall, the bottom face of the piston and the top face of the bottom C of the container. The place where the ice will be thickest will be the portion of the storage chamber side wall at the north side of the apparatus, due to the fact that (a) The sun never hits that side of the ap paratus; and

(1)) Heat is carried away most rapidly by the steel portion of the apparatus exposed to the wind.

The piston will collect ice less rapidly than the side wall of the gas storage chamber, because 7 the semi-confined air space above or on the top side of the piston, will, on the average, be several degrees hotter than atmosphere, due to the sun which strikes the roof of the container. The bottom of the storage chamber will collect ice at a slower rate than the piston, because the bottom C of the container rests on'and is protected by the ground, and the flexible piston sealing ele ment E will collect ice the least rapidly of all,

because said sealing element is generally made of rubber-coated fabric which acts as an insulator.

In order that ice which collects on the inner surface of the side wall of the gas storage chamber may be detected from the exterior of the apparatus while the apparatus is in normal use, I have provided said side wall with one or more ice detectors H, arranged so as to be accessible from the exterior of the apparatus, and preferably, constructed so that the user, by applying pressure to same, can easily determine whether or not ice has accumulated on said wall, and if there is an accumulation of ice, the user can determine the approximate thickness of same. In the preferred form of my invention herein illustrated each of the ice detectors H is formed by a circular, flexible diaphragm arranged over .a hole or opening 1 in the side wall of the gas storage chamber and connected in a gas-tight manner to said wall by a clamping ring 2 that is held in position by fastening devices 3, said diaphragm usually being made of gas-tight fabric. The gas pressure in the storage chamber normally holds the detector H in an outwardly-bulged condition, as shown in the drawings. If there is no ice on the inside of said detector and on the inner face of the storage chamber side wall of which the detector forms a part, then by feeling said detector or pressing inwardly on same, this fact can be determined by the natural flexibility of the material of which said detector is constructed. If, for example, there were inch of ice onthe inside of the detector H, it would be stifi and unyielding when subjected to pressure in a direction tending to flex it inwardly. By pushing inwardly on the center of the detector, a load can be created which will crack or break any ice that has accumulated thereon. By calibrating this load against known thicknesses of ice for a given diameter of the side wall opening which the detector H covers, then a calculating table can easily be'made. From this table and the required load to break the ice on the detector, the thickness of the ice can be determined. Since no great accuracy oi this thickness is required, a man can tell by feel the approximate thickness of the ice. In Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings the reference character X designates ice that has collected on the detectors H and on the inner face of the side wall of the gas'storage chamber.

The piston A-isprovided with one or more detectors H of the same construction as the detector H, above described, located near the peripheral edge of "the piston in such a position that an operative standing on the top side of the piston, can test or feel the detectors H in the manner previously described, and thus determine whether ice has accumulated on the underside of the piston, and if so, the a proximate thickness of the ice. In order that the piston sealing element E may be easily tested for ice accumulation, I form openings d in the upper portion of the container side wall and in the back-stop member F on the piston that constitutes abutment surfaces for said sealing element. In certain positions of the piston the pressure of the gases in the storage chamber causes the piston sealing element to be pressed tightly against said abutment surfaces in overlapping relationship with the above mentioned holes, as shown in Figure 2. At such times an operative standing on the exterior of the container side wall or on the top side of the piston, can apply pressure to the piston sealing element E, through the holes 4, in a direction to flex said element inwardly for the purpose of ascertaining the presence of ice or the approximate thickness of accumulated ice on said piston sealing element. l referably, rain deflectors 4 are attached to the container side wall, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, so as to shield the openings 4 in said wall. A safe load of ice on either the inner face of the storage chamber side wall or on the underside of the piston would be of the order of 1 in. A safe load on the piston sealing element E would be of the order of inch, or in other words, thin enough to crack off said sealing element, without tearing or disrupting same when said sealing element assumes the form of an upwardly-disposed loop, as shown in Figure 2.

In addition to comprising means for enabling an operative to determine from the exterior of the apparatus whether a dangerous or objectionable thickness of ice has accumulated on internal surfaces or portions of the apparatus, my improved gas holder is equipped with means that the operative can actuate or render operative to melt such ice while the gas holder continues in use. In the preferred form of my invention herein illustrated said means consists of or comprises a heater pipe 5 arranged inside of the lower portion of the gas storage chamber adjacent the side wall of same, and a heater pipe 6 arranged in the upper portion of said chamber, preferably in proximity to the point where the piston sealing element E is attached to the storage chamber side wall. Separate supply pipes 5 and 6 equipped with control valves 5 and 5 are provided for admitting a suitable heating fluid to the heater pipes 5 and 6, respectively, and each of said heater pipes has an eduction pipe (not shown). As previously explained, ice will accumulate most rapidly on the storage chamber side wall. Therefore, when manipulation of one of the detectors H indicates that the coating of ice on the storage chamber side wall is getting near its maximum allowable thickness, the operative in charge of the apparatus admits heating fluid to both of the heater pipes 5 and '5 or to only one of said pipes. If the piston A is in the position shown in Figure 1, it is r adily seen that the space to heat is very small, and consequently, this is the most economical position of the piston for melting all ice. If the piston is in the position shown in Figure 2, and the piston sealing element E were the only part necessary to heat, then it is more economical to supply heating fluid to only the heater pipe 5.

In comparison with gas holders of conventional construction, my improved gas holder has the very desirable characteristic of being constructed so that the operative in charge of same can accurately determine when ole-icing of the apparatus is necessary. An an example, consider a 15 M. C. F. gas holder handling 12,000 C. F. of gas per day, which condenses out 6 lbs. of water per 1,090 O. F. Assume that in a gas holder having a diameter of about 30 ft. and a piston rise of about 22 ft. the ice becomes 1 inch thick on the side wall of the gas storage chamber; /9, inch thick on the piston; inch thick on the flexible piston sealing element; inch thick on the bottom of the gas storage chamber. With the above amount of ice there will be a totall67 C. F. or 952 lbs. of ice collected. Since the 12,600 C. F. will deposit '72 lbs. of ice per day, it will require 952 lbs., divided by '72 lbs, or 13.2 days, for that much ice to accumulate. Thus, the operative in charge of the gas holder should de-ice it once in about 30 days during the weather when there is no considerable thaw, in order to be on the safe side. With my improved gas holder the operative does not have to guess when de-icing is necessary, owing to the fact that the gas holder is equipped with means by which the operative can determine, from the exterior of the apparatus, while it is in use or normal operation, the approximate thickness or quantity of ice that has collected inside of the storage chamber and on the piston sealing means. Hence, my invention saves a great many unnecessary de-icing operations.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A gas holder provided with an ice detector formed by a gas-tight, flexible element set in a rigid wall portion of the gas storage chamber on whose inner surface ice is liable to collect, and normally held in an outwardly-flexed condition by the internal pressure of said chamber, said flexible element being accessible from the exterior of the gas storage chamber and being flexible enough to be flexed by hand.

2. A gas holder of the kind described in claim 1, that also comprises means, operable from the exterior of the gas storage chamber for supplying heat to said chamber for melting ice that has, accumulated on internal portions of said chamber.

3. A gas holder having a gas storage chamber provided in one of its walls with an opening covered by a flexible gas-tight ice detector, that is adapted to collect ice which forms on the interior of said chamber and which normally is maintained in an outwardly-flexed condition by the internal pressure of said chamber, said flexible ice detector being adapted to be flexed inwardly by pressure applied to same externally of said chamber, so as to determine the existence and approximate thickness of ice that has collected on the inner surface of the Wall in which said detector is mounted.

4. A gas holder, comprising a container, a vertically-movable piston in said container, a flexible, curtain-like, gas-tight sealing element attached to the piston and to the container side wall so as to co-act with the piston and the container to form a gas storage chamber, and ice detectors in the piston and in the side wall of the storage chamber, formed by gas-tight flexible elements in said piston and side wall which normally are maintained in an outwardly-flexed condition, said detectors being adapted to be flexed inwardly by manual pressure applied to same externally of the storage chamber, so as to determine the existence or approximate thickness of ice that has collected on the inner surfaces of said side wall and piston.

5. A gas holder of the kind described in claim 4, equipped with means operable from the exterior of the storage chamber for melting ice that has accumulated on internal surfaces of said chamber.

6. A gas holder of the kind described in claim 4, in which the portion of the container side wall located above the point at which the piston sealing element is attached to said wall, constitutes an abutment structure against which said piston sealing element is pressed by the gases in the storage chamber, and openings in said container wall for enabling an operative located on the exterior of the storage chamber, to apply manual pressure to said piston sealing element to test the same for the accumulation of ice thereon.

'7. A gas holder of the kind described in claim 1, in which the piston is provided on its top side adjacent its periphery, with an upwardlyprojecting annular back-stop member that forms an additional abutment surface for the piston sealing element in certain positions of the piston, said annular back-stop member having openings in same that permit pressure to be applied to said piston sealing element when said element is in engagement with said annular backstop member for the purpose of testing said sealing element for the accumulation of ice thereon. V

8. A gas holder, comprising a container having a vertical side wall, a reciprocating piston in said container, '2. flexible, gas-tight, curtainlike sealing element attached to the piston and to an intermediate portion of the container side wall so as to co -act with same to form a gas storage chamber, the upper portion of the container side wall consisting of an abutment surface for said curtain-like sealing element, ice detectors formed :by flexible, gas-tight material attached in a gas-tight manner to the piston and to the lower portion of the container side walls: and arranged over openings in said parts, an annular back-stop member on the top side of the piston that forms an additional abutment surface for the curtain-like sealing element in certain positions of the piston, said abutment surfaces having openings in same for permitting manual pressure to be applied to said curtainlike piston sealing element to test the same for the accumulation of ice thereon, a heating apparatus on the interior of the gas storage chamber for melting ice that has accumulated on internal surfaces of said chamber, and means for controlling the supply of a heating medium to said heating apparatus.

JOHN H. V/IGGINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,050,685 Wiggins Aug. 11, 1938 2,266,270 Roth Dec. 16, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date 23,735 Great Britain of 1905 339,458 Germany Mar. 1, i919 

1. A GAS HOLDER PROVIDED WITH AN ICE DETECTOR FORMED BY A GAS-TIGHT, FLEXIBLE ELEMENT SET IN A RIGID WALL PORTION OF THE GAS STORAGE CHAMBER ON WHOSE INNER SURFACE ICE IS LIABLE TO COLLECT, AND NORMALLY HELD IN AN OUTWARDLY-FLEXED CONDITION BY THE INTERNAL PRESSURE OF SAID CHAMBER, SAID FLEXIBLE ELEMENT BEING ACCESSIBLE FROM THE EXTERIOR OF THE GAS STORAGE CHAMBER AND BEING FLEXIBLE ENOUGH TO FLEXED BY HAND. 